A quiet Tuesday at the table. Just me and Spirit Island on the solo two-handed setup.

I lost. Cleanly. The blight cascaded on turn five and I never recovered. It's a game I'm bad at and keep playing anyway because every loss teaches me one specific thing I'd been doing wrong. Tonight's lesson: I'm too greedy with major powers in the early game. I take them when I should be defending.

The kettle was on, the rain was on the window, the cat was on the rules sheet. It was a good evening even though I lost.

That's the thing about solo play. The bar is just "did I have a nice time alone for two hours". Tonight: yes.